Despite spotting No. 1 seed and back-to-back defending CIF water polo champion Riverside Poly a five-goal lead in Wednesday’s CIF-SS Division 3 semifinal, St. Lucy’s nearly pulled off the comeback before falling short in a 9-8 loss at Irvine High School.

The Sierra League champion Regents (22-4) scored six of the game’s last eight goals but the problem was Big VIII champ Poly (17-9) scored the contest’s first five.

“We hit a lot of bars and Poly played good,” St. Lucy’s coach Jeff Rach said.

“The two times we played them this season were the two times we couldn’t shoot.”

Similar to Poly’s sudden death overtime win over St. Lucy’s in the Bonita Tournament earlier this season, the goal posts were Poly goalie Jillian Yocum’s best friends as the Regents out-shot Poly 32-21.

Dallen Coulter, who had a team-high three goals for St. Lucy’s, scored twice in a row during a third-quarter comeback after which Emily Donohoe’s 6-on-5 goal with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter pulled St. Lucy’s within 7-5.

A pair of Poly goals, including the final of Sarah Lizotte’s five, restored a four-goal cushion for the defending champs. But St. Lucy’s reeled off three goals in a span of three and a half minutes to make the score 9-8 with 2:13 to play. Cambria Shockley’s second goal capitalized on St. Lucy’s third consecutive power play opportunity after the Regents failed to score on their first four 6-on-5 situations of the game.

St. Lucy’s held off a Poly on its final two possessions, including a 6-on-5 advantage, but couldn’t convert. The Regents’ final shot, like countless earlier attempts, hit the post with 35 seconds to play.

“We’ve probably had 10 one-goal games this season,” Poly coach Mike Cardey said. “Earlier in the season we were coming out on the wrong side of them but now were coming out on the right side of them.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Division 1A

Ayala 67, Crescenta Valley 51

Jillian Alleyne scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (24-6) past the host Falcons and into a semifinal matchup with Santa Monica at 7 p.m. at Damien HS.

Rhema Gardner added 18 points and 10 rebounds while Angela Weber contributed 15 points for Ayala, which jumped out to a 25-5 first quarter lead which they would never relinquish. Ariel Marsh hit three three-pointers for nine points.

Summit 65, Mira Costa 49

Adrianne Thomas scored all of her 17 points in the first half to lead the SkyHawks 25-5) into the semifinals after defeating the visiting Mustangs (22-8). Ashley Weissmann contributed 18 points, including a half-court shot at the buzzer in the third quarter, while Anna Brodie had 15 points for Summit.

Division 5A

Long Beach St. Anthony’s 84, Mesa Grande 47

Tamara Bowles scored 10 points, had three blocked shots and four rebounds but the Cardinals (19-7) fell to the visiting Saints (20-9). Jennifer Dupper led all scorers with 14 points and four steals while Breanna Meelker added nine points and seven rebounds for Mesa Grande, which reached at least the quarterfinals for the third straight year.

Division 6A

Calvary Baptist 60, West Valley Chr. 45

Allison Dial scored 20 points, had nine rebounds and three assists to lift the Cougars (18-6) into the semifinals for the first time in school history with a home win over the Crusaders (16-5). Adrianna Andrade grabbed 15 rebounds while the sole senior on the team Cassie Breeden added eight points and 18 rebounds. Calvary Baptist’s 18 wins have set the school record for any sport.

GIRLS SOCCER

Division 1

Santa Margarita 2, Los Osos 1

Lauren Bohaboy scored her second goal of the game with 15 minutes left, leading Santa Margarita (22-2-3) to the second-round victory over the Grizzlies. Brianna Ellis tied the game up for Los Osos (19-2-3) earlier in the second half off an assist from Laura McGrail.

Division 2

Ayala 1, Anaheim Canyon 0

Makenzy Doniak nailed a free-kick just outside of thirty yards, scoring her 19th goal of the season, to lift the Bulldogs (15-8-2) past the Comanches. 31 fouls were called in contest, with an Aneheim Canyon player receiving her second yellow card and promptly ejected, handing a one-man advantage to Ayala.

Goalie Alicen Wright continued her record-breaking year with her 10th shutout of the season as the Bulldogs advanced for the first time to the quarterfinals of CIF.

Division 3

Bloomington 2, Mayfair 1 (OT)

Jasmine Medina nailed a penalty kick in sudden-death overtime to lift the Bruins (19-2-3) past the visiting Monsoons (18-5-3) and into the quarterfinals. Bloomington’s Katie Bathgate was pulled down in the penalty area which set up Medina’s game-winning shot. Mayfair had tied the game with 30 seconds to go in regulation, with Bruin goalie Chelsea Lesniak recording 17 saves.

Division 6

Murrieta Calvary Chapel 3, San Dimas 2 (2OT)

Shannon McKee and Maribel Duran scored but the visiting Saints (16-4-2) eventually fell in a heartbreaker to the Warriors (12-3-2). San Dimas jumped out to a 1-0 halftime lead behind steller goalie play by Rachel Jones.

Ontario Chrisian 1, Oxford 0

Kaitlyn Mendoza scored on a left-footed kick from 25 yards out off a throw-in by Tara Struiksma with 12 minutes to play to extend the Knights’ undefeated streak to 25 games.

The Knights (24-2-1) set a school record as keeper Emily Lloyd recorded her 18th shoutout of the season. The Knights have allowed just 18 goals all season.

“We just couldn’t get our regular rhythm going,” said head coach Dave Belden, who team advances to a home semifinal game on Friday.

Clay Fowler is the sports features and UCLA basketball writer for the Southern California News Group. He has been working for SCNG since 2006, when he moved to Southern California from his native Texas. He was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from the University of Texas in 2002. He lives in La Verne with his wife and son. He is probably craving Chinese food right now.

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